Quick and Quintessential Careers & Job Tips – July 10, 2000

Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips

Phone interviewing is becoming more important. In a tight labor market in which expanding businesses need to hire lots of workers in a hurry, phone interviews are sometimes taking the place of in-depth, in-person interviews. Electronics retailer Best Buy, for example, plans to hire 1,500 people in a hurry for its expansion into New York and New Jersey. Interviewees will press 1 for “yes” and 2 for “no.” With such a simplistic scheme for responding to interview questions, interviewees won’t have to know too much about phone interview skills. But many other companies will employ in-depth, person-to-person phone interviews. Look for a future article in QuintZine on Phone Interview Etiquette.

Think those first few minutes of small talk in an interview aren’t important? Learn from this cautionary tale from a colleague of ours: He was a college senior who had survived the on-campus interview process with a major consumer-products company. The firm flew him to its headquarters, a considerable distance from his college. Because of bad weather, he didn’t arrive at his hotel in the company’s city until 3 a.m. the morning of the interview. Three hours later, the company sent a car to pick him up for his day of interviewing. He first met with the senior vice president of sales, whose first question was “How are you doing?” “I am well,” our friend answered. “Just a little tired. . .” he said, as he went on to explain about the delayed flight. He underwent interviews all day, meeting with 6-10 people. Two weeks later, he received a rejection letter. He called the company to ask what he’d done wrong. He learned that the company had based its entire decision on his response to that seemingly trivial bit of small talk, the “how are you doing?” question. They felt he was setting himself up for failure. The lesson? Even a seemingly innocuous bit of small talk can derail your interview, so watch everything you say from the first moment you meet your interviewee.

How to get pumped up before an interview? In his book, College Grad Job Hunter, Brian Krueger talks about The Interview Psych Technique, in which you pat yourself on the back and tell yourself or a friend how great you are the night before the interview. The Pygmalion Technique is a variation in which you get someone close to you — your mother or significant other are good choices — to pump you up and tell you how wonderful you are. A little ego-stroking before an interview certainly can’t hurt. Read more from Krueger.

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Dr. Randall S. Hansen is founder of Quintessential Careers, one of the oldest and most comprehensive career development sites on the Web, as well CEO of EmpoweringSites.com. He is also founder of MyCollegeSuccessStory.com and EnhanceMyVocabulary.com. He is publisher of Quintessential Careers Press, including the Quintessential Careers electronic newsletter, QuintZine. Dr. Hansen is also a published author, with several books, chapters in books, and hundreds of articles. He’s often quoted in the media and conducts empowering workshops around the country. Finally, Dr. Hansen is also an educator, having taught at the college level for more than 15 years. Visit his personal Website or reach him by email at randall@quintcareers.com. Check out Dr. Hansen on GooglePlus.

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